Vibrator and massager for use over spine



y 12, 1950 H. J. NEWCOMBE 2,944,543

' VIBRATOR AND MASSAGER FOR use OVER SPINE Filed April 2, 1958 Harold J. Newcombe 1 N VEN TOR.

V g 2,944,543 'ia e s Th vention relatesto a n ovel' and improved vibraton,

' 'on all. parts of'the body, the appliance will. t

ian o par i ular t p ci P IPQ j qr a sa n ns usc ss nd ,n r s O e ch "side of and directly over the spine, during which the 'for .which'i't' may be so effectually used. Primarily fitis.

,bl qd u y w s s e sim t e u l emu -19 wellli'known vibrators f of many kinds have been? perfected' andfofiered for' rnany purposes, but none have "been appropriately devised for; the specific purpose of fstimlilating the muscles, blood supply and nervesiof the spine 'onvertebr'ae; Massaging this part of thebody has insome instances, with a vibrator, attached." :'T he salientpurpose ofthe instant vibrator massager is to massage the desired areas aided by the use of two see pliable tires or'treads which are attached to wheels which are preferably conical and which rotate. by" friction as th'e' appliance is manually pushed back and forthfwith, of course the tires} in contact with the 'tly over i Incarrymg out the'preferred embodimentofthe iiiven- "sually 'been accomplished with the use of the hands, and

pan the wheels are mounted 'oifecenter causingfthemto track alongfa'nd automatically raise and lower 'at' the "same time. When the wheels are at low points, a half turn of the wheels raises to the desired axes level.

The-'wei ghfof the over-all appliance plus regulative pres- C sure of thehand, whether it be li-ght or heavy, results in a "massaging, effect to the muscles bloodvessels and nervefs contacted. The massaging can be done with "requisite nicety (light pressure or heavy) starting at the base or lowest extremity of the spine anddirected. and

maneuvered upto the uppermost region of'the neck'following, 19 s rs? wa ns sz uide mana Then, 160, and in addition to the massaging effect a built-in vibrator causes the whole appliance or device to vibrate, .giving added. stimulation to -the musclsiiblobd supply and nerves in the areas acted on. The advantageous results are obvious. Tired, languid and tense muscles are benefited by the use of this appliance, assisting the circulatory system in this area by rhythmically controlled action. The vibrating source should be slow enough to cause a. soothing effect rather than a vigorous one. Where predetermined vibration rates are needed, this result can be accomplished by utilizing a speed changing rheostat in the motorized vibrator.

No claim is of course being made that this massagervibrator will cure physical ailments, but that its proper use will aptly and satisfactorily stimulate the area covered. Since all nerves are attached to the spinal cord orifices in the vertebrae, practical usage may and should prove beneficial to other parts of the body whether functional organs or extremities.

In addition, the tire-covered wheels are made expressly and sized to straddle the bony prominences of the vertebrae. This structural feature functions to stimulate both the muscles and nerves on both sides of the vertebrae at the same time. Since muscular stimulation is beneficial v ,and massagerfor spinal use l w-ith the invention.

purposes for'which it is intended. c

that are frequently relaxed and flabby because the 'so-seldom used. 1

thought to be an improvement onanalog ous prie art adaptations and, which will meet; with manufacturing serve the needs of users and patientsv alike. c .To be sure, it is;common"practice in hospitals t- .and the accompanying :drawing. j q

Q In the drawing ,wlierein likenumerals are employ 45 .l designate like parts throughout the views:

. Furthermore, the fact that the wheels mounted center causes the Wheels torotate with the intendedwofr desired irregularity. This wheel-action results. in. giving added stimulation to the pressure of the operators hand as it is being raised and lowered a fractionof an, inch at each revolution of the wheels. Consequently this laction sends a new flow of blood into the desiredai eas and cases tense, tired muscles as. well as those muscles e It is another object of theinvention to provide a si ple, practical and an eflicient structural appliance. which is requirements and economiesof manufacture and will (on nurses employing alcoholg'as arubbinglagent ltos the skin, of a. feverish patient' who has beenponfin abed for a long period of time his also" true tliatftlie described hand'teehnique' has a cooling'effect' which' is comforting but, manifestly, vibration an massaging'iwith theQ-instr'umentality herein revealed greatly assists-.thl: circulatory system by reliable rhythrriic'contml anduthis tooQis comforting aswell as beneficial in 'stimulatingthe b'a'ck muscles in thearea of the spine.

It is alsopa'ma'tter ,of common knowledge that mas seurs in hotels and health clinics and the like'relyjon hand technique or .massagin g (needs. Obviously, they sp enda lot of time-in doing what this-simple and useful fappliance jcan accomplishin a matterot-Qminutes. The

effect of it-he .mechanical stimulator herein,re'vjealed much superior because his directed "only to the area so Lvital to thewhole body. As amatter of fact and with exception of the cranial .nerves, .all others are atta had to the spinal cord andenter into the body through, orifices in each vertebra. Hence the,.appropriate.need for an invention such as that herein disclosed.

Other-objects, features and advantages will become more. readily apparent from c following description Fig/Zis anendvieW of the same observingit in. the ire t s -9mf 9 Ii hti r i and s ow ng -t re or'treadpartly broken away to expose the conical roller.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view.

Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of the readily applicable and removable wheel treads or tires.

By way of introduction to the description of the details it is to be pointed out that while the expression wheel is used and tire also employed it is obvious that these components may be construed as rollers, or rollers with cushioned treads with the treads, of course, readily applicable and removable.

In carrying out a preferred embodiment of the invention a frame of suitable size, weight and material is employed and this is denoted as a unit by the numeral 8. It is a unitary part and the major part as seen in Fig. 1 is generally U-shaped. The median or bight portion 10 is suitably shaped and notched as at 1'2 to provide a handle or hand-grip. The depending portions or legs are denoted at 12 and 14 and as seen in Fig. 1 they have extensions formed with sockets as at 16 to support a suitably constructed electric motorized vibrator (not detailed). As seen in Fig. 2' the median portions of the legs are offset laterally at right angles as denoted at 18. The lower end portions 'are vertical as at 20 and the lower portions thereof are provided with suitable bearings for the axles v22. As the drawingshows there are two wheels or rollers and each is of the same construction. In some instances, the rollers may be cylindrical in jerqss section butthey are preferably tapered and each roller is shown as of tapered or conical'form in Fig. 2 is denoted at 24. The roller is held in place by a washer 26 and nut 28 mounted on the threaded end or shank 30 of the wheel axles. The wheel is eccentric to the axis of the axle as perhaps best shown in Fig. 1.

holding the tire in place and facilitating its application and removal. 7

As is seen in Fig. 1 the current conductor is denoted at 38 and the switch at 40;

The tires as seen in Figs. .1 to 3 inclusive are of the same cross-section or surface contour While the modifications in Figs. 4 and 5 are slightly different. The modifieation seen in Fig. 4 is denoted by the numeral 42 and ithe'ret'aining lip at 44. This particular tire has an endl'essfconve'x grip .46 around the central portion. The modification 48 in Fig. 5 has a retaining lip '50 and there endless channel or groove 52 around the median peripheral portion. Thus there is a tire for bony spine prominences, one for flat backs, and one with the ridge or iii) '46 for backs with a lengthwise groove, as it were.

It will be evident that the invention is characterized bya massager for the particular purpose of massaging the muscles, blood vessels and nerves directly over and on each side of the spine or back bone. The rollers or wheels may be either conical or cylindrical and they are ribviously preferably off-center. The soft resilient tires are cone-shaped and lipped on the inside edge of assist in retaining them in place and also for easy removal. The special shaped peripheral surfaces of the tires conform with different spinal prominences. An "electric rheostat (not shown) may be incorporated in the motor to regulate the speed desired.

The invention has so many diversified uses that it is sufficient to say merely that it is applicable for use in hospitals, convalescent homes, health clinics, for use in connection with helping and aiding persons engaged in athletics, sports and special services such as police, firemen and many others including dancers and wherever the practice of massaging has heretofore prevailed.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A massager for the particular purpose of massaging the muscles, blood supply and nerves directly over and on each side of the spine comprising a frame, wheels supported for free traveling rotation on portions of said frame, said wheels being in longitudinal alignment and having compressibly resilient tires on their surfaces adapted to reside in rolling contact with the body areas along the spine, said frame having a laterally offset handle positioned above the median peripheral portions of said tires, said wheels and their attending tires being adapted to transversely span the spine and being of a length to act upon the areas to the left and right of the spine, and a vibrator mounted for operation on said frame and normally above and between the respective wheels.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 and wherein the body contacting surface portions of the tires are contoured for different spinal prominences, such as a wry spine prominence, for flat backs, or for backs having depressed grooves. "3. A massager and vibrator comprising a generally U-shaped frame having a bight portion which is fashioned :to provide a handle and having depending leg portions, the upper parts of the leg portions being coplanar with the bi'ght portion, the median portion being laterally offset and the lower end portions depending vertically and being in a plane common with each other to in this manner ofiset the handle, the lower portions of said legs having bearings, longitudinally aligned wheels having axles mounted for rotation in their respective bearings, each wheel having a removable compressibly resilient tire on its peripheral surface, and a vibrator supported from the median portions of said legs.

4. The structure defined in claim 3, said wheels being conical and said tires being shaped to conform with the wheel surfaces, said wheels being mounted eccentrically and being offset and the peripheral surfaces of the tires being contoured to meet the varying spine massaging needs and requirements. I

5. .A manually usable massaging appliance comprisin a generally U-shaped frame the bight portion of which is fashioned to provide a hand-grip, a pair of eccentrically mounted freely rotating wheels carried by lower portions of said frame, saidhandle being centered over the peripheral portions of said wheels, and a vibrator mounted on said frame above the peripheral surfaces of the wheels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,624,335 Miller a Jan. 6, 1953 

